Matty Nicholson deserves all the plaudits he gets after making an electric start to NRL life with Canberra Raiders. That’s the belief of his Raiders teammate and compatriot Morgan Smithies, who has been playing alongside Nicholson in the Canberra pack so far this year.
Nicholson made the move to the NRL from Warrington Wolves over the off-season and couldn’t do enough to earn a spot in the side for round one in Las Vegas. However, Ricky Stuart looked his way in round two against Brisbane Broncos and it’s fair to say he took his opportunity with both hands.
The back-rower marked his Raiders debut with two tries, announcing himself to the Aussie fanbase and he added to that tally last week as the club claimed a win over Cronulla Sharks. As such, the Yorkshireman, who started his career at Wigan Warriors before moving to Warrington, has been the talk of the NRL in recent weeks and Smithies couldn’t be happier for him.
Morgan Smithies lauds Matty Nicholson’s NRL start
“Matty is killing it,” Smithies told the press down under. “Obviously he missed out in round one and then round two he took his chance. It’s good to see.
“He’s a hard worker and he definitely deserves it. He’ll keep working hard and trying to improve on his game and he’s confident.”
Should Nicholson carry this form through the NRL season, he will surely be a shoo-in for selection for Shaun Wane’s England squad to face off against Australia at the end of the season.
Smithies is also hoping to be a part of the three-match series and but he knows he must continue to impress in green before he can think about pulling on that white shirt.
“Obviously it’s something I want to be doing at the end of the year after this season,” he added. “Right now I’m just focusing on playing for Canberra and trying to perform well, week in, week out and build some consistency. I feel like stuff like that will take care of itself if I play well for Canberra first.
“It’s huge for the game back home. It’s exactly what the international game needed as well. One of the games has already sold out so obviously the English fans are keen to see it. It’ll be good to be a part of.”
